Sunday, 28 August 2011

Suqqu Mascara Volume Long N and BRTC Glamorous Sparkling BB Cream

This week, I've been wearing the Suqqu Mascara Volume Long N, that I purchased as part of last year's Christmas Makeup Kit. It is a water-resistant mascara containing resin fibres, that promises to help create soft, curled lashes. The mascara can be removed with warm water.
The mascara is a deluxe sample size of 4g/0.14oz. I could not find any information on the weight for the regular retail size but one of Suqqu's other mascaras is 4.6g. It retails for £29 (about S$58) in Selfridges in the UK and 5250yen (about S$83) in Japan. The price in Japan is way beyond what I would shell out for a mascara as mascaras have to be discarded after just a few months for hygiene purposes.
There are only a handful of reviews for Mascara Volume Long N on Cosme.net and most of them are negative, with criticisms of the mascara's lack of curling and volumising properties. Also, attempts to remove it with just warm water often led to unsightly black smudges around the eyes.

My lashes after using the MAC eyelash curler.
The first couple of times that I wore the mascara, it didn't hold the curl of my lashes very well although my lashes didn't straighten out completely. On the third try (which is pictured below), I got much better results and my lashes stayed nicely curled over more than 6 hours of wear without any flaking or smudging.
The mascara is good for adding length and definition but not at adding volume. If you want a volumising mascara that gives greater impact, Benefit They're Real! will give you better results. The Suqqu mascara requires quite a bit of layering to build up the length but it doesn't clump or make the lashes feel stiff and crunchy after it dries.
The slim brush also works well for defining and lengthening the super short and sparse lashes on my lower eyelid, without smudging against the skin.
I couldn't remove this with my Bioderma Sebium H2O but it came off with the Body Shop Shiso Make-up Cleansing Oil. Even for mascaras that are supposed to be removable with warm water, I prefer to use an eye makeup remover or cleansing oil to avoid having to rub the lashes too much.
Overall, I think Suqqu Mascara Volume Long N is a decent mascara and I will continue to use it regularly but it didn't impress me enough to justify the exorbitant price tag.
The products used for this look include: BRTC Glamorous Sparkling BB Cream, Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Loose Powder Foundation 102 Natural Ivory, Tarte Tipsy blush, Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer 05 and Eye Gloss Duo B 03, RMK Super Basic Liquid Concealer EX-01 and K-Palette Lasting 2-Way Eyebrow 01.
The BRTC BB cream is thus named as it contains soft shimmer particles to give the skin a refined glow. Although it was a good match for my skintone, the finish was too dewy for my liking and it didn't even out the skin surface as well as some other foundations that I've tried. Oil control was average with blotting required every couple of hours. The ultra fine shimmer particles were only visible when viewed up close under direct sunlight. In the photo below, I swatched it on the right half of my hand. Fortunately, I only paid about S$2 for a 5ml tube (as part of a sampler pack of 4 BRTC BB creams) from Guardian Pharmacy.